Did Bruce Lee believe that no martial art is better than other?

Question

Did he believe that all systems are useful?

Answer 1

yes. he believed all martial arts were the same and could only be a different form if we had 3 arms and 4 legs.

Answer 2

Yes I think so. That's why he took his favourite aspects of all martial arts and created his own style, Jeet Kune Do.

Answer 3

Sensei you are such an idiot. Al you seem to do is knock Bruce Lee. He was human and he had an ego but he also was a great martal artist. If youre sifu is happy with your constant negativty then he cant be that good.

Docroy I agree with most of what you say but disagree about Inosanto schools being mcdjo. I trained for a couple of years and loved it. I'd still do it if there was one closer to my home. I agree it isnt JKD as Bruce taught it but Guro Inosanto has developed his own approach to Bruces teachings.

My own take on this is that Bruce lee figured that there were basic understandings which were comon to all martial arts and those things were the important parts. If you can do them you can master self defence. It was because some arts added so much fluff to the essentials that he got p***ed off with traditional arts. Plus these old 'Chinese' masters who said that their chi could do this and that.

Sensei (sticks in my throat to call you that)

You tend to stick your oar in any post about Bruce and spew your poison. Maybe you should show some of the intgrity that your instructor does. Have you trained with any of his students or asked any of the great people who new him how good he was? Maybe Guro Insoanto, Leo Fong, Jhoon Rhee, Gorge Dillman, Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, Wally Jay, Al Dasascos, and all theothers didn't know as much as you. Maybe he fooled them all. I revise my view. You are not an idiot you are a complete fool.  Keep on spewing your poison.

Answer 4

Yes to some degree... that's what he said wasn't it? Although he did like boxing a lot and may have studied it more than others but he believed all styles were equally effective for different purposes.

Answer 5

Bruce actually believed that all systems were useful in one way or another. All had something to offer. His main argument was with the way martial arts were taught and the mentality of the people teaching them.

Most instructors at that time teaching kung fu would teach without sparring. Most karate schools sparred with no contact and awarded points. Most martial arts emphasised (at that time) forms/kata over sparring. He believed this was unrealistic and damaging. He advocated fighting over form. Bruce also was one of the first advocated of all round conditioning over traditional type exercises.  There are many photographs and testaments to Bruce using modified contact gear (kendo body armour, boxing gloves) to allow full contact sparring (in the 1960's before full contact was in existence really) and modified pads and shields (from football, baseball and boxing) to allow full power kicking and punching drills.

Did he believe no martial art was better than another? Well Bruce enjoyed being controversial and being talked about and so yes he did feel some arts were inferior to others but this was mainly down to arts which had no basis in the 20th century and which did not take into account 20th century life where guns were more available while morality and respect were low.  He stated that any art which required years of training in order to be able to defend yourself to a small degree were bad as were the masters teaching the invincible power of 'chi'. He was a realist who wasn't afraid of saying what he thought.

Hope that helps

Added:

Manda M: I used the word 'MOSTLY' fairly clearly. I am aware of the history of Kyokushin and have sparred a few times with some good Kyokushin fighters. However, KK has its own secular basis and has historically kept to itself.  While contact has been allowed, officially (unless the rules have changed) it doesn't allow grappling nor head punches) which is what Bruce advocated. Nowhere do I sing Lee's praised to the detriment of others.

I also agree fully with your view on the JKD Concepts/Inosanto issue. What is taught at most of these is little more than a McDojo taste of what Bruce taught. However, there are still people out there doing authentic JKD/Bruce's art such as Jesse Glover, Taky and Andy Kimura, Pat Strong, Howard Williams, Tim Tackett, Bob Bremer, Ted Wong, Chris Kent, Tommy Carruthers and Lamar Davis.  

As for his amount of knowledge, my Wing Chun instructors, Grandmaster Ip Chun and Master Wong Shun Lung BOTH said Bruce was exceedingly talented at Wing Chun.  Ip Chun went as far as to say that Bruce was his fathers (Grandmaster Yip Man) favourite student - much to the annoyance of other students due to his non-pure Chinese blood. To be honest, I would take their word than some unknown, unnamed Chinese 'master'. He also had more training time with Yip Man one-on-one than William Cheung and Hawkins Cheung both of whom are considered 'masters/grandmasters'.

Sensei: Same old same old. You REALLY have a problem with people liking or supporting Bruce. If you don't like him, don't get involved with questions about him or his art. Read the question..... its about Bruce's attitudes to things.  Sheesh man.

Answer 6

No, Bruce Lee said that he felt Boxing and Wrestling to be superior to most asian martial arts.

He also said that he believed a 1-year student of wrestling or boxing could probably defeat most blackbelt level martial artists.

Answer 7

After coming to America he said that someone doing boxing or wrestling would beat most blackbelts in styles

Answer 8

docroy77, most schools now are mcdojos, they only do point sparring.

You used the words 'at that time' as if it's a phenomenon of that era only.

Good school is always more difficult to find that mcdojo.

KyoKushin karate has existed pre 1960 and the first kyokushin dojo opened in 1957 in US.

Kyo put heavy emphasis in full body contact and sosai Oyama was famous for his 100 people kumite which is still practiced today along with the lesser 50 people kumite. It definitely pre-date Bruce Lee in setting up the importance of kumite/sparring.

Masahiko Kimura, the famous judoka that defeated Helio Gracie also put emphasis in sparring (he's famous for his 200 man throw) some of his student also opened a school in America.

Bruce Lee very limited practice of kung fu lead to his belief of the superiority of boxing.

Honestly, Bruce Lee is too much of a hype, I doubt he has a chance against a real kung fu master.

Sure he had that famed fight against kung fu master Wong Jack Man, which has so many uncleared record of it with Linda Lee's only account stating Lee winning very easily against Wong Jack Man and other later records stating otherwisely.......including Linda Lee's later account too.

Holding on Bruce Lee's opinion is as much as holding Van Damme opinion in Martial Art, both are decent practitioner but far from being an authority in the issue.

If you see most Jet Kune Do school now, you'll see so much of Filipino art in it, that's because Dan Inosanto (who is the most preminent Jet Kune Do trainer now) actually teach more of his actual base in filipino art rather than any of Bruce Lee's limited stuff.

He just used Jet Kune Do to ride Bruce Lee's popularity and his myth status.

So while YES, Bruce Lee believe boxing is better than kung fu, I would not regard his comment that highly.

Answer 9

Manda M - I Love You!

Your answer reflects what I always say.

How can a person who had very little actual martial arts training have the authority to say what is useful or not?

This is an insult to those of us who have many years of training and CAN use our art!

I teach Okinawan MA and everything I have ever learned is useful. I also study Chinese martial arts and what I am learning has such profound application that I am puzzled by the audacity of BL's BS!

One of my Teachers is Chinese and he told me honestly that BL was a novice at best. He says some Chinese say BL was great because they don't like to down-talk their own, due to cultural pride. He has over 60 years of experience in USEFULLNESS!!!

BL was fast and in great shape but that has nothing to do with martial arts.

Your answer is right on point.

(dave r - I'm not negative. I just don't go for the BL hype.

If you want to believe that thousands upon thousands of high level practitioners around the world are wrong and BL is right... who is the idiot??? It is obviously YOU!)